79pmooney

I haven't tried the 2.0s yet. (The G+ last too long.) Prior to the G+ I rode Corsas in the summer, Open Paves in the rainy months. I liked the Corsas in the dry, but scary wet! Open Paves were probably the best fast road tire I've ridden in the wet.

Aside - I've always felt that for a given quality level, the if you graded the 5 factors (RR, grip, durability, puncture and flat resistance and weight), on a one to ten scale and the added the grades up. they would come out to a set number, no higher. (Say 30. So if RR is a 10, weight 10, then durability, puncture resistance and grip add up to no more than 10 total. Graphene changed the number. G+ took it to 35. Vittoria chose to put the addition into the grip (starting with the Corsa). G+ had all the benefits of the Corsa and far better grip,especially in the wet. Now relative to the Open Paves, not as good grip in the wet (but fairly close) and far better reliability and radically better durability. Also much faster.

What I take from both this testing (and what wasn't tested) plus Vittoria's claims is that this is the next step up, again to a higher total number and that again, Vittoria chose not to improve the decent but not spectacular RR and improve the other factors still more.

My next tires will be either G+ (at discounted prices) or 2.0s. The only way I can lose is if the 2.0s are actually worse than the G+. Vittoria promised the G+ were a sep up. They were. Vittoria is promising the same for these. For me, tires have several functions but the number one is - by far- keeping this old and many time crashed body off the pavement. That the G+ do that superbly AND roll very nicely, are decent for flats and cuts, feel like a slightly heavy real race tire and last like trainers, well that's pretty hard for me not to love. And that's riding them with brutal tubes. When my rims die, the wheels are going tubular. Then I really get to live!

I'm an ex-racer. Loved mass start races. My experience is that races are lost by tires far more often than won by them. I want tires that are in the ballpark for weight and RR and I can trust to deliver me through corners, the wet, stuff on the road and are decently reliable. Now, for TTs, triathlons and long solo breaks, different factors come into play and other tires may be better. (I used to race Clement Criterium Setas. Stored correctly and kept (as best possible) out of the wet, they were the workhorse tires of the pelotons I rode. The G+ in tubed clincher feel near as fast, heavier, equally to more reliable, better gripping! and last longer.)

Oh, completely separate but with commenting on - the tread pattern. Ribbed! In my racing days, most of the good cotton training tires were ribbed tread. Took it completely for granted, Then in the '80s, they disappeared. I slowly forgot how good that tread was (and never saw it on a super tire - the top Clements were mixed or matte tread). Thank you Vittoria! for bring it back. Best all around thread ever. Decently fast (this could be part of the step down from the earlier Corsas), very grippy - not the best but consistently predictable, well behaved in the wet - again, not the best but predictable and they have one feature that can be that once in a decade butt-saver - ribbed tread is by far the best for climbing out of cracks or back on to the pavement - places all of us have been riding the peloton.

Real life on the G+. Solo ride, open, straight county road. Line of cars coming. Last car, a hot Camaro type, decides to pass the bunch. (I was wearing bright orange, Never occurred to me he'd try this.) Well, it just happened the pavement widened for a farm path side street exactly where I was when he passed me in my lane going 60. Wow! Then I realized this pavement was about to end and I was headed for the ditch! There was a pile of grave on the last of the pavement but I had no choice, I was getting back onto the road or I was crashing so I cut left. Tires just cruised back onto the road. No big deal at all! (Except my HR.) G+ and ribbed thread - love.

Edit: I ride the 28s at ~88 front, 92 rear. 25s just over 100. If I had the probably 22s I used to race, I'd go the same 100 I used then. (And I always run 4-5 pounds difference.)

Ben